Stevens Links

March 11, 2013

From Stevens to the Peace Corps

Just a few weeks after she
graduates in May, Katie Quish '13 will fly to Liberia, where she'll
spend the next two years teaching math and science to children for the
Peace Corps. While there, she'll look back on her years at Stevens as a
time of learning, exploration and personal growth.

Quish,
22, grew up in Hartford, Conn. Her father is a travel agent and her
mother is a teacher. She is an only child. She attended high school at
University High School of Science and Engineering, a reputable magnet
school affiliated with the University of Hartford. She swam, played
tennis and joined the school robotics club.

Quish
wanted to attend a college where she could continue to pursue her
lifelong interests in science and math. She had been touring colleges
throughout the northeast when her uncle, a guidance counselor in New
Jersey who used to live in Hoboken, suggested she look at Stevens.

“I
fell in love with it instantly,” she said about her first visit to
Stevens. “The location is great, and it's the right size school for me.
Everyone is involved, and everyone knows everyone, which is great.
There's a lot of support around because everyone knows who you are.”

Quish said she overcame the challenge of adapting to college and academic life during her freshman year.

“The
first year was rough, and I wasn't ready for it,” she said. “But
through repetition I got used to it. When you're involved with things on
campus, which is easy to do at Stevens, then you learn that balance.
You're always busy so you learn about managing your schoolwork and
organizing everything.”

Quish will graduate with a degree in Engineering Management.

“It's
still a degree in engineering, but more of the business world,” she
said. “I like being able to talk to people and help them manage their
projects.”

During
her time at Stevens, Quish served on the Entertainment Committee and
helped bring events to campus. She also worked in the community with the
Alpha Phi Omega
service fraternity, and served as vice president for the Stevens chapter
of Habitat for Humanity and as treasurer of the Stevens chapter of the
Society of Women Entrepreneurs. She spent her senior year spring break
in Portland, Ore. building houses with other Habitat volunteers.

Quish also joined the Stevens Cooperative Education
program, which helped her land two internships, first with the Louis
Berger Group, an engineering firm in Morristown, and then with Hamilton
Sundstrand, a subsidiary of aerospace company United Technologies
Corporation. She worked for Hamilton Sundstrand out its offices in
Connecticut and San Diego.

Quish
credits one of her professors, Teresa Zigh, with encouraging her to
join the Peace Corps. “She was really supportive,” Quish said. “I told
her I really want to do the Peace Corps, but I was wondering if I should
find a job instead, and she said no, go for it, it's something you want
to do and it's in line with your career goals.”

Quish said she's excited about her opportunity to teach abroad, in a country that is recovering from civil war.

“They're
really pushing for education over there, and the kids we'll be teaching
will be the next generation who will be able to improve Liberia's
economy and help them grow,” she said.

She said she's preparing for the change in lifestyle.

“I
know it will be really different, going from having everything readily
available all the time, to going somewhere where I might not have
internet for a month,” she said. “I'm sure it's going to be hard, but
it's something I really want to do.”

When she returns, Quish wants to find a job that blends her expertise and interest.

“I'd
like to use my engineering and project management skills for
international development, and help other countries that might not be as
well off,” she said.

In
her spare time, Quish enjoys practicing yoga, hanging out with friends,
including her sorority sisters in Theta Phi Alpha, and exploring cities
like New York, Boston and Washington.